Six shot, one dead during violent weekend

TRENTON — Violence in the past five days has included a homicide, a sheriff’s detective getting assaulted by a juvenile, and six others wounded by gunfire, according to city and county law enforcement. Of the seven shooting victims, at least three of them are considered to be bystanders, according to police.

Thursday night, Detective. Ed DiNatale of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office was punched and choked by a 13-year-old while he was working security at the carnival off Cass Street. DiNatale was treated and released from the Capital Health Medical Center while the youth was sent to the Middlesex County Youth Home on aggravated assault and improper behavior charges.

On Friday, the city’s south ward turned into a war zone with three shootings within the span of a few hours. Around 7 p.m., a man was shot through the stomach on the 900 block of South Clinton Avenue. The victim survived the wound, but was not very forthcoming with police about the circumstances of his shooting, Sgt. Mark Kieffer said.

Two hours later, chaos erupted inside the carnival when an unknown suspect fired more than 10 shots in the air, prematurely closing down the carnival and sending patrons running for cover. According to scanner reports, a fleeing patron had a heart attack in the McDonalds on the 600 block of Cass Street, while a child became separated from his parents as he escaped the carnival.

Ten minutes after shots were fired in the carnival, the city’s seventh homicide occurred at the intersection of Jersey Street and Home Avenue. Police were able to gather from surveillance footage that a vehicle pulled up by a bodega on Home Avenue and the occupants of the vehicle opened fire on 22-year-old Sidiq Howlen, leaving him in the street dead from a gunshot wound to the head. As the victim lay in the street, unknown individuals shot at the vehicle. Police are still determining exactly how many people were involved in the incident, but at least one bystander, a 49-year-old man was wounded in the leg, Kieffer said. The city Detective Brian Egan and Detective Robert McNally of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s office are both investigating the case.

On Saturday, around 11:30 p.m., a woman was shot twice in the thigh on the first block of Boudinot Street. According to scanner reports, the woman repeatedly refused medical treatment and eventually went home untreated. An hour later, the woman returned to Capital Health and eventually had her wounds treated after being sedated. It’s unclear why she was hostile to police and medical personnel.

“She refused to cooperate with police and refused medical treatment from paramedics multiple times,” Kieffer said. “When she got in the hospital, she even gave the doctor a hard time.”

On Sunday, a lone suspect in a black hooded sweatshirt opened fire on the 200 block of Walnut Street, hitting a 56-year-old man in the foot and a 19-year-old convenience store employee in the hand. Both victims are not believed to be the intended targets of the shooting, Kieffer said.

The violence continued on Monday with a man being shot in the leg on the 100 block of Oakland Street. As of press time, police acknowledged that the shooting is being investigated by the TPD’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, but did not release any further information.

Anyone with information about the shootings can call the Trenton Police confidential tipline at (609) 989-3663 or the Crimestoppers tipline at (609) 278-8477.

Those wishing to text a tip regarding the shootings can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.